


A Desert Flower

by old_shizuumi151 (shizuumi151)



Series: Parallel Universes [3]
Category: Free!
Genre: For the Future Festival, M/M, Splash Free
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 03:30:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4506063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shizuumi151/pseuds/old_shizuumi151
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>From that moment, Haruka is not a trespasser. From that single, fleeting moment, they turn into two simple boys who race through life, and whose hearts will beat wildly with youth, freedom, and love for the rest of their days.</i>
</p><hr/><p>In the harsh deserts of Iwatobi, the kingdom is strict and the water is scarce. For love to bloom in its barren, bustling midst, is as rare as a desert flower.</p><p>«  #forthefuturefestival: day 1 | bronze | splash free  »</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Desert Flower

In all of his twelve years of life, Haruka has never seen something so earth-movingly beautiful. He's floating in a bright, vast abyss.

_Ah._

A sea of light that spreads endlessly.

_This dream again..._

Haruka keeps gentle watch. He likes this dream.

A boyish voice echoes, calling his name. As soon as Haruka opens his eyes, his vision was filled with soft, sweet reds.

' _Nanase_...!'

Haruka registers that he is standing. He frowns at a figure approaching from the distance. A boy his age, only more pale, bejewelled, radiant. Locks water-dyed maroon, it's always him.

'Nanase!' The boy calls his name again, giggling and giggling.

Why was it always him?

* * *

It's bright beneath his eyelids, when Haruka wakes. Pink breaks into blinding white when his lashes flutter open. The smell of dry air and arid sand seeps into his bones. 

"Finally, you're awake!" A high-pitched voice pierces Haruka's skull, and a bubbly giggle follows suit. "I was wondering when you were gonna get up!"

The lurid sun beats down on the hut, streaming through the cracks of the ceiling, sprinkling the simple bed and table with glowing flecks. Light catches on a poorly hidden, ruby bracelet, and the sheer glint leaves purple traces in Haruka's vision. His lips crackle in a wince, and he brings his hand to cover his eyes, till he realised it's covered by the other boy's full-palmed clasp.

His palm is warm, pliant, soft.

Haruka eyelids creak shut, and open. His throat crinkles into sandpaper, and his eyes follow up the arm's ivory skin. Up to the elbow, until a muddy, burlap cloak covers the rest of the boy's body. His face is hooded, too. Yet the rough, poor cloth could not conceal the brilliance of the boy's grin.

Prince Matsuoka. Heir to the throne.

Rin.

"You snuck out again." Haruka comments. His voice grates from thirst and sleep.

"I told you not to bother with that sorta stuff!" he waves him off, his small body already adopting the bold gestures of royalty. "That'll be my problem to deal with. All _you_ need to do," He pulls out a leather, rope-bound flask, and Haruka's mind bursts with need. The sound of water sloshes in his skull, and Rin grins. "Is to come with me."

Haruka nods quickly, for he has not learned of dignity in the face of constant, pressing thirst. So he does not resist from ogling the way Rin uncorks the flask, does not protest how his soft finger tips up Haruka's chin when water pours into his mouth, slips down his sandpaper throat. The soothing flow inebriates him, and he finds himself catching his breath when Rin pulls away the flask a little soon. Always a little soon.

He wipes his lips with his sand-dusted forearm, alert to Rin's intent gaze. Those ruby eyes thin into a youthful grin, and his giggles bubble through Haruka's ears.

Rin links their hands, and his feather soft lips captures Haruka's wet.

Before Haruka can register his first kiss, they tear off into the open sun. Haruka runs through the winding market streets, Rin keeps one hand on his burlap mask, and their fingers are entwined. His calloused feet pound onto the sandy, earthen floor, and the sight of Rin's back and the firmness of his grip makes Haruka's head spin.

* * *

_"H-Hey!" A wide-eyed boy stumbles onto the palace courtyard, wearing robes much too big and gems far too grand. His hair glows like rich clay under the sun. His bejewelled hands grip the hot stone lip of the fountain, and he yells at the intruder under the water. "What're you doing in there?!"_

_The intruder breaks the water's surface, and it clings to his slim frame. Water trails down his scalp to spill from his chin. He flicks his black hair to the side, saturated with water, and breathes quietly._

_The young prince pinches his lips in a fluster, and he readjusts his off-kilter orange turban with two hands. "Wh-Who are you? Answer me!"_

_The intruder's eyelids rise, as if waking from a gentle slumber. Thick droplets cling to the dark lashes when his eyes open, and the prince's breath starts in a meek hitch._

_In all of his twelve years of life, Rin has never seen something so earth-movingly beautiful. He is lost in the sheer blue of the boy's eyes, as clear as the water that flows in the fountain between them._

_"My name is Nanase Haruka," the boy replies. Haruka replies. His voice is smooth like the finest silk and the warmest molasses, and the prince holds the chest of his robes in a feverish clutch. "Who are you?"_

_Indignation does not rise within the prince at this Haruka's ignorance. Instead, his heart feels to be tumbling all around his chest, and breathing becomes thin as cheeks grow warm. Haruka is brown like sugar cane, glazed pottery. He is lean, even bony, and the prominence of his wet collarbone and naked chest make the prince's throat tighten._

_"I-I..." His voice joins the wind carrying the sand. A droplet trails down Haruka's slim neck. He swallows tightly. "Matsuoka Rin. I am the prince."_

_Haruka nods tersely. "May I keep swimming here?"_

_"I—_ No! _" Rin exclaims, and he clams up after his outburst. His turban tips forward again, and his brow crumples in frustration. "No, you may not!"_

_"...I see."_

_Haruka glances downwards. His disappointment is heavy, and veiled thinly._

_Rin watches him, and wrings his fingers. His lessons in etiquette linger in his mind; his teachers, servants, advisors—everyone who had waxed such fond praise on his ascension to royalty would surely scorn him, should he hesitate one more second in exiling this impudent, insolent, unfeeling boy from this courtyard fountain._

_But his father's turban already weighs on his head. And his heart leaps._

_He doesn't fathom how his body sparks like the embers of striking flint, when he touches Haruka. Rin's pale hand wraps around his wet and tan, and a blushing smile adorns his face unbridled._

_"You will swim somewhere else, instead!" he declares, and his feet have never felt lighter the moment Haruka's lustrous eyes grow wide and bright. "Come with me!"_

_His body turns to the palace outskirts, for he knows a shortcut to the private oasis. Once sees that Haruka's feet stumble onto the firm ground, he breaks off into a run._

_"H-Hang on!" he chokes in a breath, but his knees still lift in their rush. "Where—What are you doing?"_

_Rin laughs, melodic like the nightly orchestra, radiant like the beating sun. It seems as though life unfurled the tapestry of her mysteries for him to see, because his future has never seemed so dazzling and clear. From that moment, he is not the prince soon-to-be. From that moment, Haruka is not a trespasser. From that single, fleeting moment, they turn into two simple boys who race through life, and whose hearts will beat wildly with youth, freedom, and love for the rest of their days._

_He turns around with a toothy grin, and both of them blush on that bright, summer morning._

_"I'll show you a sight you've never seen before!"_


End file.
